Evaluation of the clinical effect of Shenfu decoction on patients with chronic heart failure

Objective To explore the clinical effect and safety of Shenfu decoction on patients with chronic heart failure.Methods 116cases with chronic heart failure,who were admitted to internal medicine wards of the People's Hospital of Huishui County from Jan,2010to Oct,2011,were divided into the treatment group(60cases)and the control group(56cases).The former were given the best Western medicine treatment and oral administration of Shenfu decoction,while the latter were given the best Western medicine treatment and oral administration of Placebo decoction.All patients took medicine 3times a day with 50ml each time for 6months.Then,the rehospitalization,improvement of TCM symptoms and adverse reactions of both groups were evaluated.Results Both groups were followed up for one year,which showed that the difference of rehospitalization between groups was statistically significant(P0.01).After 6months of treatment,the treatment group had significantly greater improvement in symptoms like palpitations,shortness of breath,edema in faces and limbs,dry mouth,asthma,chest tightness and cough than the control group(P 0.01).Compared with the control group,the treatment group also had more significant improvement of above symptoms in the 3rd month,6th month,9th month,and 12th month of follow-up visit after treatment were respectively compared with those in the same periods of the control group(P 0.01).Conclusion Shenfu decoction can not only improve cardiac function and clinical symptoms of patients with chronic heart failure,but also reduce the times of rehospitalization and adverse reaction.